Housekeeping: I'm back, I'm tired, I'm crabby. A far cry from "tanned, rested, and ready." It took nearly four hours to get back from the airport yesterday (40-ish miles), so what was to be an evening return became . . . hell. A note on abortion before we move on. I don't think a serious argument can be made for life not beginning at conception -- at least not without hypertechnicalities being invoked. Still, that doesn't necessarily force the conclusion that the fetus deserves any protection, legally speaking. It doesn't count in the census, can't be written off as a deduction, and in all other ways is considered no business of the government until birth. Anti-abortion laws (or amendments) subvert that tacitly time-honored status. The laws now don't reach into that sphere for a good reason. This is what has always surprised me about conservative legal opposition to abortion. It shows an uncharacteristic lack of respect for the hidden or unwritten laws of society, along with a willful ignorance of the sanctity of privacy from the state.

As for the argument that abortion is "a matter for the states": There's an argument to be made there. I don't fully agree with it, but I respect it. Too often, though, it is a GOP stalking horse to appease the twist lobby. "Against abortion? Us? No, no, no! We just don't think it's a federal issue."